How do I know if I would love working at Fertility Bridge?

You want to know the impact you’re making is real because you can see the results of positive change. Because Fertility Bridge is still so young, the ownership and innovation you have over your space is transformative to our company and everyone we reach.

You are an INtrapreneur who has a serious passion for the outcomes and responsibilities for your seat. You don’t want to take the risk of being an entrepreneur--compliance, capital, taxes, sales, human resources, insurance, funding, etc.--but you want to build and own the part of the business that you are good at. You have a strong point of view on the systems and best practices needed to achieve your required outcomes. You love that you are the one who gets to define and systemize them.

As much as you love owning your seat, you love collaborating with and helping co-workers when there is a new seat or one that is unfilled.

All five of our company values are your values.

How do I know if I would hate working at Fertility Bridge?

If you need to be told how to do most parts of your job, you’re not going to like it here. It’s perfectly reasonable to want manuals, standard operating procedures, and trainers for every aspect of your job; you just won’t get them from us for most things. While we have systemized rapidly in the last couple of years, and are far more organized than ever, we are still very nascent in many areas. Most roles that we hire for involve establishing structure, rather than only following it.

If you prefer working with major budgets and very large teams, we can’t meet your needs there, either. We’re a small company that has to think very creatively and strategically, and we usually have to do the work ourselves.

What does growth look like at Fertility Bridge?

Fertility Bridge is a seedbed for experts. David C. Baker says “once you’ve tasted deep expertise, you’ll feel shameful getting paid for anything less.” We don’t mean expertise in the way that almost everyone thinks they’re an expert. We mean the true, deep expertise that merits respect, confidence, and material reward because it is not easily substitutable. Deep expertise is not easy to substitute because it requires a proven, specific, articulated point of view on every aspect of one’s narrow field. Fertility Bridge’s Learn By Doing value provides the opportunity to establish and advance your points of view in every area of your expertise. Growth at Fertility Bridge isn’t managing dozens of people or climbing a corporate ladder. If those are your needs, another company would be a better fit. Growth at Fertility Bridge is developing such deep expertise that you have more opportunity than you know what to do with.

How big is the team?

Anyone who is the point of contact for clients at Fertility Bridge, or is in charge of systems and strategy is a full-time, W2 employee. The technicians and specialists that they manage are usually independent contractors. In addition to Griffin, the owner, the other full-time employees include the Operations Manager, Director of Client Success, Creative Manager, Digital Strategist, and Project Manager. We will add at least one additional seat to that roster. They manage developers, cinematographers, SEOs, designers, photographers, writers, paid media techs, and others.

What is the team like?

All of our team members exude all five of our core values, yet they fall across a wide range of unique personalities. You can read about their particular interests here. One common theme they share is that they are all genuinely interested in each other’s success. They stand up for each other, help each other, and take accountability when there is a shade of gray. If you’ve gotten ahead in work environments where co-workers sabotage one another, you’re not going to like it here. We like to have fun with one another at our semi-annual in-person meetings, and occasional virtual happy hours, but we live by Work Hard and Recharge. We don’t dawdle because we have a lot of work to do and it can’t bleed into the time we should be spending time with loved ones and enjoying our non-professional passions.

How will I be evaluated?

The reason we can speak so confidently about the team’s genuine investment in each other is because every team member is evaluated through the People Analyzer. The People Analyzer assesses team members on all five of our core values on a plus, plus-minus, or plus. They are also given a Yes (Y) or No (N) on each of GWC (Get it, Want it, have the Capacity to do it) for the required outcomes of their seat.

The manager and the employee each score the employee’s People Analyzer, and share their examples for each mark.

If a team member is a minus or a plus-minus on any of our values, or a No on any of GWC, they are coached on how to rise to a plus or a yes. If they remain at a minus or a No, they are unable to remain at Fertility Bridge. The people that are rewarded and move ahead at Fertility Bridge are those that demonstrate pluses on all five core values, and “GWC” all of the outcomes associated with their seat.

How does the team communicate?

Mostly through a little VoIP software you’ve probably never heard of called, Zoom. It may be pronounced Zome, we’re not sure. All client and internal meetings are held over video. Yes, as in face-to-face virtual; cameras on. We were a remote company with our workforce distributed throughout the United States and Canada prior to the COVID pandemic, and we always will be.

We have two or three weekly recurring meetings, that start and end on time--between 60 and 90 minutes, depending on your role--and a daily stand-up that averages fifteen minutes. Other meetings happen when team members need to work on processes or clients together.

When you start, the first several weeks will involve a scheduled Zoom meeting at both the beginning and end of each workday with either the Operations Manager, or Griffin, the owner of the company. We have some onboarding process, but to make sure you are given what you need, we speak on video at the beginning and end of each day for the first several weeks of your time at our company.

We use Asana for project management and all communication about any given project or task happens there. We do not use Slack because we try to keep interruptions to a minimum.

The full-time employees meet in person twice a year, for a few days at a time, at our annual meeting in January and our semi-annual meeting in June, you know, like, when there isn’t a cursed pandemic going on.

Independent contractors are invited to our virtual happy hours which we host around holidays or other occasions and we love treating them as part of the team!

Does Fertility Bridge offer benefits?

Job Perks:

• Never had layoffs
• Leadership contribution
• No late/weekend hours
• Office closed Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day
• Mandatory time off
• Team that has your back
• Always remote
• Virtual happy hours
• See your impact
• Acknowledgment of contribution
• Semi-annual in person retreats
• 1 on 1 access to company owner
• Growth-centered feedback
• Reciprocal feedback
• Flexible work hours

At present, Fertility Bridge does not offer material benefits like health insurance or 401k. We do plan to offer benefits in the future. The first of which is profit sharing, slated to begin in 2022.

What about vacation, sick, and personal time?

We offer our full-time employees three weeks (15 days) of paid time off for any reason. This is in addition to 8 or 10 holidays in which the whole company is off. Furthermore, you shouldn’t have to use any of your time at the very end of the year. We have gifted an extra week of vacation and closed the company between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day every year that we’ve been in business. Griffin always reserves the right to be a Scrooge if we don’t get our work done before the break, but so far, he hasn’t been a grinch.

We’re not one of those companies that gives you unlimited time off, and then makes you feel bad for taking it. Work Hard and Recharge is one of our company values and we want you to enjoy your time off. We’ll get by without bugging you. You don’t have to think about work when you’re off because there’s plenty of time to worry when you get back!

What about job security at Fertility Bridge?

We’re not referring to your performance here, which is answered in the question about how you will be evaluated, but rather the history of the company. Even massive agencies cut employees when they lose their massive clients. Fertility Bridge has never laid off a single employee in our seven years of business. We have never missed payroll. We have never cut salaries. There is not one dollar of debt against the company. We do not hire until we can easily make payroll even if we lost our two biggest clients at once, and didn’t replace a dollar of their billing for six months.

Sometimes we struggle with the flipside when we go too long before we fill a needed position. But we’re happy to pay that stress for the peace of mind knowing our livelihoods are secure, as it was even with something as tumultuous as the onset of the COVID pandemic.

Who will I report to?

Either our Operations Manager, or the owner, Griffin, depending on your role.

What is the interview process like?

You’re going to have a lot of autonomy and decision-making authority at Fertility Bridge. You are the queen or king of your seat and we follow your lead in your space. Because you have so much control, we really want to get to know you and we really want you to get to know us.

All interviews take place over Zoom, except the first, which is sometimes done over the phone. At the end of each interview, we give you the opportunity to ask us any question you please. If we think we are going to offer you the position, we will ask you to make the introductions for certain references.

Most positions involve a paid assignment, so that we both get the opportunity to see what it is like to work together.

Some positions have the flexibility to contract instead of immediate hire, if that is your preference.

For independent contractors, we can start off with very small assignments and grow to your capacity as long as we are both happy with the arrangement.

How can I stand out as a candidate?

This advice will help you not just at Fertility Bridge but anywhere you apply. Doing these three things dramtically increases your chances of landing your dream job!

1. Follow up: You may want to recite this mantra. “If I have not followed up, I have not applied.” You are doing the hiring manager a favor by following up for two reasons:

First, employers (we) sometimes get hundreds of applications for one position. Emails get buried, resumes are difficult to differentiate and correspondence from our hiring CRM sometimes ends up in spam. Follow-up is an automatic differentiator that directs the manager’s attention back to your resume.

Second, hiring is a big investment for managers and companies. Very often, employers just aren’t sure about a candidate. When they’re unsure, the smart ones err on the side of not hiring. Consistent follow-up gives the hiring manager the information they need to become certain one way or the other. For you as a candidate, a polite rejection is far better than hearing nothing at all.

2. Focus on outcomes. Center your questions about the future and examples from your past on the outcomes required for the position.

3. Ask informed questions. We employers love enthusiasm and genuine interest, but you don’t want to land just any job. At Fertility Bridge, we want you to thrive and be happy and we suspect you want that too. The questions you ask show us how carefully you are discerning your fit with the company, and how seriously you’ve considered what is needed to achieve the required outcomes.